1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to network communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to network mediated distribution of rich media content.
2. Background Art
People respond more powerfully to visual imagery than most other communication formats. Perhaps because human survival has long depended on our ability to utilize visual images to recognize and distinguish predator from prey, and friend from foe, visual images are singularly effective in focusing our attention and engaging our minds. Similarly, the primitive need to rapidly identify objects in our visual field and have those objects trigger the appropriate psychological response may be responsible for the emotionally evocative power of visual images. Whatever its origin, the human response to visual images is deeply embedded and undeniable, and imbues those images with the ability to fill us with terror, disgust us, spark our appetites, or delight us.
The pleasure derivable from viewing visual imagery is readily apparent modern media consumption patterns. For example, the almost immediate and enduring popularity of film and television as communication media are testimony to their unique effectiveness in conveying information or entertainment in an aesthetically pleasing and cognitively satisfying format. More recently, television programs such as “America's Funniest Home Videos,” and websites such as YouTube, demonstrate the enjoyment available from sharing visual imagery in a group setting. From an individual perspective, the fun of sharing visual images with friends is evident from the enormous popularity of mobile telephones equipped with digital cameras, many of which are capable of recording short video segments in addition to taking still digital photos.
Because of their power to be emotionally evocative as well as to inform, visual images and other forms of rich media content are ideal for sharing the excitement of a pleasurable or otherwise stimulating experience. This may be a particular source of enjoyment for members of a group participating in a common social outing to a recreational venue, but unable to personally experience every attraction available at the venue. For example, a group of friends on a joint outing to a theme park may choose to split up to explore a large park property, or they may simply have different tastes in their choice of attractions to enjoy. Nevertheless, through shared rich media content such as photos or videos, the group members either absent from a particular attraction, or choosing not to participate for some reason, may still enjoy some of the excitement experienced by those actually interacting with the attraction. For instance, one friend too timid to ride a rollercoaster, may nevertheless enjoy some of the thrill felt by another friend on the ride, as a result of viewing pictures or video recorded during the event.
One conventional approach to sharing experiences at a recreational venue such as a theme park is to have one or more professional photographers or videographers employed by the theme park produce rich media content including images of the guests and make those photos or videos available for purchase by the guest and other members of their group. Using the example of a rollercoaster attraction once again, a theme park photographer might be stationed at a particularly dramatic point on the track to take photos of the riders as they pass. An individual rider and other members of the rider's group could later view that photo and decide whether to purchase it. A similar approach could be used for other selected theme park attractions, so that group members could vicariously experience and enjoy activities in which they were not direct participants. One significant disadvantage of this conventional approach, however, is that the context for the visual images is predetermined by the venue, so that individual guests have little creative control over production of the rich media content. In addition, under this approach, images are typically viewed collectively at the end of the outing, robbing the vicarious experience of much of its immediacy.
Another conventional approach to sharing experiences such as the rollercoaster attraction through shared rich media content, is for one member of the group to produce and distribute the content themselves. The friend riding the rollercoaster might take photos or record video from the rollercoaster rider's perspective during particularly exciting parts of the ride, for example. That friend could then either share those images with other friends in person, or perhaps transmit the photos over a mobile communication network to others having personal communication devices suitably configured to receive the images. Although perhaps providing the element of creative control absent from the previous approach, this conventional solution has significant drawbacks as well.
In order to share the visual images in person, for example, the group members must actually be in the presence of the friend having produced the rich media content, once again diminishing the immediacy of the experience. The alternative distribution technique, in which rich media content such as photos are sent over a mobile communication network, while overcoming the immediacy problem, incurs costs for both the sender and the recipients of the visual images, arising from user charges imposed by their respective mobile communication carriers. Where many images are generated and distributed in this manner during the course of a group outing, those charges may accumulate to a substantial sum. When these costs are anticipated by the group, they may limit the enjoyment available though photo sharing by discouraging its use. When unanticipated or unaffordable, they may retrospectively ruin the memory of an otherwise pleasurable outing for individual members of the group.
As a result of the various described disadvantages associated with conventional approaches to sharing rich media content produced by group members during a group outing, the enjoyment obtained from the outing may be less than it might have been had sharing rich media content been easier or less costly. Furthermore, the recreational outing may prove to be a less enjoyable activity than it might be were the group members able to more immediately access photos and other rich media content produced by professionals employed by the venue host.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a solution for managing distribution of rich media content that provides group members with an efficient and cost effective means of sharing such content.